VCU Rams men's soccer

For the women's team, see VCU Rams women's soccer.
VCU Rams men's soccer
2016 VCU Rams men's soccer team

University Virginia Commonwealth University
Conference A-10
Location Richmond, VA
Head Coach Dave Giffard (4th year)
Stadium Sports Backers Stadium
(Capacity: 3,250)
Nickname Rams
Colors Black and Gold

             

Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal
2004
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
2003, 2004
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2013
Conference Tournament Champions
1997, 2002, 2003
Conference Regular Season Champions
Metro
1993

CAA
1998, 2002, 2003, 2004

The VCU Rams men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Virginia Commonwealth University, an NCAA Division I member school located in the state's capital of Richmond. The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Since their foundation, the team has won three conference championships, all of which came in the Colonial Athletic Association, and four regular season titles. The Rams have qualified for seven NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championships, most recently coming in 2012. Most of the team's success has come within the last 15 seasons, as they first reached the NCAA Tournament in 1997. The program's best performance in the tournament came in 2004, when the Rams reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, knocking off the top seed, Wake Forest, in the process.

The Rams are presently coached by David Giffard, who was a former assistant coach under Caleb Porter for the Akron Zips.

History

Beginning in 1978, Virginia Commonwealth University fielded a men's varsity soccer program, that competed independently.[1] Ben Satterfield was the team's initial head coach and was at the helm until the end of the 1982 season. Still then, an independent side, Roosevelt Landy took over. In 1987, the team joined the Sun Belt Conference for men's soccer, where they struggled to do well in the conference under Landy.

Following Steuckenschneider's departure in 1994, Tim Sullivan took over the head coaching job. It was also the same year VCU left the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to join the Colonial Athletic Association. Under Sullivan's tenure, the team enjoyed their most success both in conference play and in NCAA play, earning their first ever berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.

Initially, the young team had struggles in the Colonial Athletic Association, finishing towards the bottom of the conference standings in its first two years. In 1997, the team vastly improved, earning a third-place regular season record and earning the CAA championship that year. In the 1997 Championship, the Rams defeated American University 9-8 in a penalty kick shootout after drawing 2–2 in regulation time.[1]

Since then the team won the CAA championship in 2002 and 2003, as well as winning the regular season title those same years as well as winning the honor in 2004.[1]

The team's most successful run in the College Cup, the men's NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament, came in 2004, where the Rams entered the tournament as ranked 16th in the nation, earning a bye to the second round proper. In the second round, the Rams defeated George Washington, before upsetting the number-one seeded, Wake Forest Demon Deacons in penalty kicks. Reaching the regional finals, or quarterfinals in the entire tournament, VCU lost to eventual national finalists, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.[2]

Following the end of the 2009 season, VCU hit a team nadir, falling to last place in the CAA, their worst in the history. Following the conclusion of the season, 15-year head coach, Tim O'Sullivan was fired to be replaced by David Giffard, thus making Giffard the sixth head coach in VCU men's soccer history.[3] Giffard's facelifting of the team was credited in their finishing as regular season runners-up in 2010.[4]

The Giffard-led program began play in the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 2012 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, where the Rams finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 table, and reached the final of the 2012 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament, only to lose to Saint Louis in the final. The Rams secured an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, making it the first time since 2004 the Rams qualified. In the tournament, VCU was seeded fourteenth in the tournament. They lost to Syracuse Orange in the second round proper of the tournament, 3–2 after extra time.

Colors and badge

The team uses the school colors of black and gold.

Stadium

Along with the women's soccer and the track & field teams, the Virginia Commonwealth men's soccer team plays at the 3,250-seat Sports Backers Stadium. Located three miles north of the Monroe Park Campus, the stadium is adjacent to The Diamond ballpark, where the baseball team plays. Since its completion in 1999, the stadium has served as the primary venue for the team.

Fans

Like all VCU Rams sports teams, the men's soccer team's main fan group is the Rowdy Rams. The Rowdy Rams are situated in the bleachers in front of the nets, and switch sides each half to invoke intimidation on the opposing sides goalkeeper. They sit with the university's marching band. The Rowdy Rams at games refer to themselves as Rowdy FC.

Rivalries

Over the years, the Rams have developed rivalries with intrastate colleges, both in the Colonial Athletic Association and against non-conference opponents. The team's main rivals, at least before the move to the A10, were considered to be George Mason[5][6] and Old Dominion,[7] who both played with the Rams in the CAA. Due to the recent success of the teams' programs, some considered William & Mary and James Madison to be tertiary conference rivals of the Rams before their departure for the A10.

In the Rams' new conference home of the A10, their main rival will be the Richmond Spiders, primarily due to the geographical proximity of the two universities.[8]

Outside the CAA and A10, some cite Virginia Tech and University of Virginia as intra-conference, state rivals due to record attendances. Of the three largest attendance crowds in VCU soccer history, two came from home matches against VT and UVA.

Roster

As of September 8, 2015[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
0 United States GK Joseph Rice
2 United States DF Isaac Owusu
3 Costa Rica DF Dennis Castillo
4 France MF Steven Dal Molin
5 Honduras DF Juan Fajardo
6 United States MF Brandon Eaton
7 United States MF Luc Fatton
8 United States MF Dakota Barnathan
10 Brazil MF Rafael Santos
11 United States MF Kai Marshall
12 Cameroon FW Ivan Sakou
13 Canada GK Garrett Cyprus
14 United States FW Simon Kargbo
15 United States DF RJ Roberts
16 United States MF Cody Sweatte
No. Position Player
17 United States MF Eli Lockaby
19 United States MF Lyndsey Moreland
20 Spain FW Jorge Herranz
21 United States MF Greg Boehme
22 United States DF Nathan Abraham
25 United States MF Joseph Gonnella
27 United States MF Braden Van Allen
28 Togo DF Cedric Ekoue
29 United States MF Curtis Kirby
30 United States FW Keith Witherell
31 United States MF Jason McGlothern
32 Italy MF Francesco Amorosino
34 United States MF Chris Welsh
56 France GK Pierre Gardan
77 Germany FW Rahim Costa-Dorsey

Team management

Coaching Staff
Position Staff
Head Coach United States Dave Giffard
Asst. Head Coach United States Brett Teach
Asst. Coach United States Josh Tudela
Volunteer Assistant Coach United States Travis Morris

Last updated: September 14, 2011
Source: VCU Rams Athletics Website

Head coaching history

Dates Name Notes
1978–1982 United States Ben Satterfield
1983–1989 United States Roosevelt Lundy Italy Gianni Baldini (Co-Head coach 1983-1987)
1989–1994 Trinidad and Tobago Lincoln Phillips
1994 United States Jon Steuckenschneider
1995–2009 United States Tim O'Sullivan Led team to first CAA championship
first NCAA tournament appearance
led team to quarterfinals in 2004
2010–present United States David Giffard

Seasons

Key

Champions Runners-up Third place Wooden Spoon

Key to conference record
  • GP = Games played
  • W = Won
  • L = Lost
  • T = Tied
  • GF = Goals for
  • GA = Goals against
  • Pts = Points
  • Pos. = Final conference position
Key to conference tournament rounds
  • R1 = First round
  • QF = Quarterfinals
  • SF = Final
  • F = Final
Key to NCAA tournament rounds
  • R1 = First round
  • R2 = Second round
  • R3 = Third round
  • R4 = Fourth round
  • QF = Quarterfinals
  • SF = Semifinals (College Cup)

List of seasons

Season Conference Regular Season Overall Conference
Tournament		 NCAA
Tournament		 Additional Honors
Division GP W L T GF GA Pts. Pos. GP W L T GF GA Pts.
1978 Independent 14 4 10 0 12 N/A
1979 Independent
1980 Sun Belt
1981 Sun Belt
1982 Sun Belt
1983 Sun Belt
1984 Sun Belt
1985 Sun Belt
1986 Sun Belt
1987 Sun Belt 3 0 3 0 3 6th 20 11 7 2 35 SF
1988 Sun Belt 3 1 2 0 3 4th 17 9 6 2 29 SF
1989 Sun Belt 3 1 1 1 4 3rd 19 8 10 1 25 SF
1990 Sun Belt 7 2 3 2 8 6th 18 5 9 4 19 R1
1991 Metro 3 1 1 1 4 3rd 19 8 10 1 25 Runners-up
1992 Metro 5 0 2 2 2 5th 18 5 11 2 17
1993 Metro 5 4 1 0 12 1st 18 15 3 0 45 SF
1994 Metro 5 0 5 0 0 5th 19 5 14 0 15
1995 CAA 8 2 5 1 4 15 7 7th 19 8 10 1 30 28 25 QF
1996 CAA 8 2 5 1 9 16 7 6th 19 6 9 4 24 26 22 QF
1997 CAA 10 4 4 2 15 11 14 3rd 23 15 4 4 40 23 49 Champions R2
1998 CAA 8 7 0 1 21 7 22 1st 21 12 6 3 38 25 39 SF R1
1999 CAA 8 6 2 0 20 8 18 2nd 22 14 7 1 46 25 43 Runners-up R1
2000 CAA 8 2 3 3 10 11 9 6th 21 9 8 4 22 23 31 SF
2001 CAA 5 2 2 1 7 7 7 4th 21 8 10 3 32 26 27 Runners-up
2002 CAA 9 7 1 1 21 6 22 1st 22 15 5 1 44 20 46 Champions R3
2003 CAA 9 8 1 0 23 4 24 1st 22 17 5 0 50 24 51 Champions R4
2004 CAA 9 7 1 1 14 6 22 1st 21 12 6 3 36 22 39 SF QF
2005 CAA 11 4 3 4 11 7 16 4th 18 6 10 4 20 25 22 QF
2006 CAA 11 2 8 1 10 16 7 10th 18 4 13 1 17 25 13
2007 CAA 11 7 4 0 28 12 21 3rd 20 12 6 2 48 18 38 SF
2008 CAA 11 4 5 2 10 10 14 9th 18 8 8 2 23 18 26
2009 CAA 11 2 8 1 15 19 7 10th 17 5 10 2 25 27 17
2010 CAA 13 5 2 4 19 2nd 19 8 5 6 23 17 30 SF
2011 CAA 11 6 5 0 15 14 18 7th 20 11 9 0 34 24 33
2012 A-10 9 6 1 2 23 11 20 4th 20 12 3 5 42 25 41 Runners-up R2
2013 A-10 8 5 2 1 18 7 16 3rd 21 11 8 2 30 20 35 SF R1
2014 A-10 8 4 1 3 8 2 15 3rd 20 7 8 5 19 11 26 QF
2015 A-10 8 3 2 3 7 6 12 8th 21 7 10 4 24 27 25 Runners-up

Source for CAA record: NM Athletics[10]
Source for Metro and Sun Belt record: VCU Athletics[11]

Records and statistics

Attendance records

  1. 2,927 v. Virginia Tech (Oct 26, 2003)
  2. 2,242 v. Virginia (Sept 25, 2012)
  3. 1,987 v. William & Mary (Oct 12, 2011)

Career records

Points[12]
Pos. Player Career Pts.
1 Matthew Delicâte 2000–03 103
2 Ricardo Capilla 1997–99 94
3 Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi 1992–95 80
4 Orlin Weise 1985–88 72
5 Tedmore Henry 1980–82 66
Goals[12]
Pos. Player Career G
1 Matthew Delicâte 2000–03 45
2 Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi 1992–95 34
3 Ricardo Capilla 1997–99 30
4 Kevin Jeffrey 1998–99 29
Orlin Weise 1985–88 29
Game-Winning Goals[12]
Pos. Player Career GWG
1 Matthew Delicâte 2000–03 17
2 Ricardo Capilla 1997–99 8
3 McColm Cephas 1998–99 7
Kevin Jeffrey 1998–99
5 Mike Aust 2002–05 5
Gonzalo Segares 2001–04

NCAA Tournament results

Season Competition Round Seed Opponent Result Notes
1997 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A Georgetown 1–2
1998 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A South Carolina 1–2
1999 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A #5 Wake Forest 1–2
2002 NCAA Tournament R2 #8 Furman 0–0 Furman wins in pen.
2003 NCAA Tournament R2 #9 Virginia Tech 5–2
R3 #9 #5 Indiana 0–5
2004 NCAA Tournament R2 #16 George Washington 2–0
R3 #16 #1 Wake Forest 2–2 VCU wins in pen.
QF #16 #9 UC Santa Barbara 1–4
2012 NCAA Tournament R2 #14 Syracuse 2–3 Syracuse wins in 2OT
2013 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A Navy 0–3

Honors

Alumni

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "2009 MEN’S SOCCER IN REVIEW" (PDF). NMAthletics.com. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  2. ↑ "2004 College Cup". World News Network. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  3. ↑ "VCU fires O'Sullivan as soccer coach". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 17, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  4. ↑ Stern, Adam (April 26, 2010). "New coach, new swagger for men’s soccer". The Commonwealth Times. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ Stevens, Patrick (April 26, 2011). "VCU among George Mason's permanent home-and-home foes". The Washington Times. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  6. ↑ Sullivan, Joe (February 4, 2011). "Sully's Court: My future viewing habits". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Local players sometimes leave home to spice VCU-ODU rivalry". Richmond Times-Dispatch. TimesDispatch.com. January 21, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ Yanda, Steve (March 22, 2011). "NCAA tournament gives VCU and Richmond something in common". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ "2015 VCU Men's Soccer Roster". VCU Athletics. VCUAthletics.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "CAA MEN’S SOCCER PAST CHAMPIONS" (PDF). Colonial Athletic Association. NMAthletics.com. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  11. ↑ "VCU Men's Soccer Year-by-Year Results". VCUAthletics.com. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 "VCU Men's Soccer Season Records". VCUAthletics.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.